Golf is a sport that has existed for at least five centuries. Golf is played outdoors on a course typically consisting of nine or 18 holes. For each hole, the objective is for the golfer to proceed from a starting position, the tee, to the placement of the golf ball in the cup or hole within a predetermined number of strokes, known as par. Each movement of the golf ball consists of striking the resting ball, a stroke, with one of a series of clubs. By recording the number of strokes on each hole, a score for the individual golfer for each hole and for the overall round can be calculated.
The game of golf is primarily an individual sport, with each golfer measuring his or her performance against the par established for every hole and for the overall course. In the United States, a golfer's ability in relation to other golfers is most commonly measured by the United States Golf Association (USGA) handicap system, which establishes a HANDICAP INDEX for golfers based on an analysis of a golfer's performance in relation to par over multiple rounds. Approximately 4 million of the 25.7 million golfers in the United States have an official USGA HANDICAP INDEX. Typically, it is the more advanced golfers who go through the process of posting at least five 18 hole rounds to establish an official HANDICAP INDEX. Once a golfer has established a HANDICAP INDEX, the HANDICAP INDEX is used in combination with a USGA SLOPE RATING that identifies the relative difficulty of a specific set of tees on a given course to establish a golfer's COURSE HANDICAP for a particular course. For example, a golfer with a COURSE HANDICAP of 5 could be expected to be able to score a 77 on a set of tees with a COURSE RATING of 72. In the United States, only 10% of all golfers shoot under 90, and less than 2% shoot under 80. By comparison, the average score for golfers in the United States is 100 which would mean that the handicap for an average golfer would be 28.
Given the difficulty of shooting at or near par on a consistent basis and the generally challenging nature of the game, efforts have been made over the years to aid golfers during play, to provide analysis of their performance after play and to improve the overall golfing experience.
For example, various parties have devised GPS-enabled handheld devices that are carried by golfers during golf play. These devices serve two primary purposes. The first purpose of these devices is to provide golfers with distances to certain targets or obstacles on the course as the golfer plays each hole. Some devices also provide an overview of each hole to allow golfers to scout the layout of a hole before teeing off or during play. This is achieved through detailed graphic and/or video overviews showing the layout of the fairway and green, location of the pin, and other important terrain features. The second purpose of these devices is to allow golfers to record in detail their game play. With these two purposes, the GPS-enabled handheld devices improve golf game play by allowing the golfer to be more informed during game play and providing a detailed analysis of the golfer's performance after game play.
Additionally, various parties have devised systems for allowing individual golfers to challenge one another to a head-to-head match. Some of such systems award strokes to each player based on COURSE HANDICAP of each player, and net scores on one course are compared with predicted net scores on the same course or on a virtual course based on scores achieved on another course. Depending on the system, the sender of the challenge may find the receiver of the challenge either through an unorganized registry of golfers or by contacting a personal acquaintance directly through the system.